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Sidereal astrology is the system of astrology used by some Western and all Jyotish astrologers who base their interpretation around the use of the sidereal zodiac. Its primary feature is that the signs of the zodiac align to the sky constellations of the same name. The signs therefore run between dates which are different from the tropical zodiac used in the West. For example, Aries runs from about March 21 to April 20[1] in the tropical zodiac but extends from April 14 to May 14 in the sidereal[citation needed] (although the precise dates may vary depending on the sidereal system used). The difference between sidereal and tropical astrology is in the opinion whether the system as defined by Ptolemy in the 2nd century should be fixed to the seasons, i.e. the orientation of the Earth relative to the solar system, or to the background stars, i.e. the orientation of the Earth relative to the galaxy. Tropical astrology chooses the former, sidereal astrology the latter option. Both systems coincide for times close to the historical definition of the Zodiac, i.e. Classical Antiquity. A recent definition of a sidereal system was introduced by Irish astrologer Cyril Fagan in 1944 and is practiced by a minority of Western astrologers.
[edit] BackgroundThe classical zodiac of Greek astronomy as defined by Ptolemy is tropical in nature, defining the signs relative to vernal equinox regardless of the position of constellations. Western astrology traditionally uses this system. Sidereal astrology ties its signs of the zodiac to the actual constellations.  The precession of the equinoxes, a phenomenon discovered c. 130 BC by Hipparchus and known to Ptolemy, results in a shift between the two systems of about one degree every 70 years. The vernal equinox lay near the beginning of the Aries constellation around 500 BC, consistent with a Babylonian origin of the system. While classical tropical astrology is based on the orientation of the Earth relative to the Sun and planets of the solar system, sidereal astrology deals with the position of the Earth relative to both of these as well as the stars of the celestial sphere. The actual positions of certain fixed stars as well as their constellations is an additional consideration in the horoscope. (Over very long astronomical time scales, these fixed stars are of course themselves far from stationary.) Some sidereal astrologers denounce tropical astrologers for failing to relate to the "actual heavens," seeing in this a fundamental degeneration of the subject (Kenneth Bowser, The Traditional Astrologer magazine, (Ascella), Issue 14, May 1997, pp.23–27 [1]). [edit] Hindu astrologyMain article: Ayanamsa Further information: Jyotisha Traditional Hindu astrology is based on the sidereal or visible zodiac, accounting for the shift of the equinoxes by a correction called ayanamsa. The difference between the Vedic and the Western zodiacs is currently around 24 degrees. This corresponds to a separation of c. 1700 years, when the vernal equinox was approximately at the center of the constellation Pisces and the tropical zodiac coincided with the sidereal one (around 290 AD, or at 23.86° as of 2000 according to N. C. Lahiri[who?]). The separation is believed to have taken place in the centuries following Ptolemy (2nd century AD), apparently going back to Indo-Greek transmission of the system. But earlier Greek astronomers like Eudoxus spoke of vernal equinox at 15° in Aries, while later Greeks spoke of vernal equinox at 8° and then 0° in Aries (cf. p.16, S. Jim Tester in ref.), which suggests use of sidereal zodiac in Greece before Ptolemy and Hipparchus.[clarification needed] While the practitioners of Hindu astrology claim to be practicing astrolgy according to the true constellational placements of the planets, Sun, Moon, etc., this is not strictly true. The zodiacal constellations are not organized into neat packets of stars that cover exactly 30 degrees of the ecliptic. The zodiacal constellations are irregular. Thus, when Linda Johnsen, a respected American Vedic astrologer, says, in her book A Thousand Suns, in essence that what you see is what you get, this is not really true. The ayanamsa does take the heavenly bodies back to a much closer place in the actual constellations, but it is not the whole story. Diana K. Rosenberg has done considerable work and writing on this. [edit] Cyril FaganCyril Fagan assumes the origin of the zodiac in 786 BCE, when the vernal equinox lay somewhere in mid-Aries, based on a major conjunction that occurred that year (ref), corresponding to a difference of some 39 degrees or days. [edit] Signs vs. astronomical constellations of the zodiacNearly all astrologers, tropical and sidereal, agree that the ecliptic should be divided into twelve equal segments to form the zodiac; they differ on where the zodiac begins. Thus, most sidereal astrologers simply divide the ecliptic into 12 equal signs of 30 degrees but approximately aligned to the 12 zodiac constellations. Assuming an origin of the system in 786 BCE, this results in an identical system as that of the classical tropical zodiac, shifted by 25.5 days, i.e., if in tropical astrology, Aries is taken to begin at March 21, sidereal Aries will begin on April 15. [edit] The 13 astronomical constellations of the eclipticA small number of sidereal astrologers (such as Walter Berg) wish to include other constellations, such as Ophiuchus, in their zodiac and use 13 signs instead of 12. This results in a system completely unrelated to the zodiac as described by Ptolemy. While Ptolemy noted that Ophiuchus is in contact with the ecliptic, he was aware that the twelve signs were just conventional names for 30 degrees segments (especially since the Aries sign had ceased to be in contact with the Aries constellation already in his time). For the purpose of determining the constellations in contact with the ecliptic, the constellation boundaries as defined by the International Astronomical Union in 1930 are used. For example, the Sun enters the IAU boundary of Aries on April 19 at the lower right corner, a position that is still rather closer to the "body" of Pisces than of Aries. Needless to say, the IAU defined the constellation boundaries without consideration of astrological purposes. The dates the Sun passes through the 13 astronomical constellations of the ecliptic are listed below, accurate to the year 2002. The dates will increment by one day every 70½ years, and already several have changed. The corresponding tropical and sidereal dates are given as well.
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